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Not really. Inspiring awe is a property based on when you see it. If you could demo an iphone to someone in 1970 it would be awesome; if you demo it to someone

Not really. Inspiring awe is a property based on when you see it. If you could demo an iphone to someone in 1970 it would be awesome; if you demo it to someone in 2015 it would be an old iphone. Green is forever.

lispm 17y ago
a Porsche from 1970 is still awesome. There are many things that have timeless qualities. Every time I hear 'The Man Machine' from Kraftwerk I think how awesome it is. 'The Grand Canyon is awesome' - how does that depend on WHEN I see it. As long as there is a Grand Canyon, it is awesome. It is of no concern if there are things less or more awesome. The Grand Canyon is just 'awesome'. Lisp has for some people also timeless qualities. One of these people is Alan Kay (of Smalltalk, Dynabook, etc.) fame. Check some day what Alan thinks about Lisp: http://bc.tech.coop/blog/060224.html http://bc.tech.coop/blog/060224.html "Most people who graduate with CS degrees don't understand the significance of Lisp. Lisp is the most important idea in computer science."
- blasdel 17y ago
  I can not think of a more clearly terrible example than Geology! The Grand Canyon is in no way exempt from time -- millions of years ago it was just another unremarkable course of the Colorado River, and millions of years from now it will have eroded to nothingness. The Himalayas used to be an unremarkable coastline, and the Appalachians hills were once taller than Everest is now.
  - lispm 17y ago
    Awesome is an impression by a person that makes an observation. Millions ago the earth had no Grand Canyon (and thus could not be observed) and millions years ago there were no observers that could be impressed by something. As long as there is a GRAND CANYON (a label for an observable geological feature given by man) the GRAND CANYON will be awesome. Your father found the Grand Canyon awesome and and your children will find it awesome, too. For us humans the Grand Canyon, as long it is there and as long we are there, is 'awesome'. 'Awesome' is an impression that humans have of something. It has nothing to do with geological timescales.
    - jodrellblank 17y ago
      Unless there is an atomic spaceship war in a hundred years which scars the earth with canyons that size every few hundred miles. Then our grand children will not find "the Grand Canyon" awesome, they will find it "just another of those huge canyons that are everywhere and really boring". Redwoods are awesome trees because of their size. If all other trees died out and Redwoods were the only tree, they wouldn't be awesome, they would be "normal tree size". Unless you are high you don't go around being awe inspired by everyday things. Awesome is implicitly comparing with "everything else". Different things aren't awesome, but awesome things are different - but only while they are different. > a Porsche from 1970 is still awesome Not to me. A Veyron, now that's awesome. Spitfires are awesome, but only anachronistically - for their time and their reputation at the time - they don't hold a candle to a modern fighter.
      - lispm 17y ago
        I find a lot of cars awesome. Because they ALL have the SAME qualities that I like: excellent design, fantastic engineering, etc. Sure, there might be cars with less fantastic engineering, those I might not find awesome. But it says nothing about that there is only a single thing of a certain type that I can find awesome or that other things are less or more awesome. 'Just awesome' stands for it alone. No, I don't find the Veyron awesome. That's just butt ugly. These are awesome cars: http://www.ausmotive.com/images/Porsche-917-01.jpg http://www.ausmotive.com/images/Porsche-917-01.jpg Especially the one in the front.
lispm 17y ago
http://www.porsche.com/germany/sportandevents/motorsport/history/racingcars/70ies/1970-gulf917-4-9kurzheckcoupe/ http://www.porsche.com/germany/sportandevents/motorsport/his... http://www.ausmotive.com/2009/03/20/porsche-917-celebrates-40th-birthday.html http://www.ausmotive.com/2009/03/20/porsche-917-celebrates-4... You would not find that Porsche 917 from 1970 awesome? http://www.ausmotive.com/images/Porsche-917-01.jpg http://www.ausmotive.com/images/Porsche-917-01.jpg

lispm 17y ago

a Porsche from 1970 is still awesome. There are many things that have timeless qualities. Every time I hear 'The Man Machine' from Kraftwerk I think how awesome it is. 'The Grand Canyon is awesome' - how does that depend on WHEN I see it. As long as there is a Grand Canyon, it is awesome. It is of no concern if there are things less or more awesome. The Grand Canyon is just 'awesome'. Lisp has for some people also timeless qualities. One of these people is Alan Kay (of Smalltalk, Dynabook, etc.) fame. Check some day what Alan thinks about Lisp: http://bc.tech.coop/blog/060224.html http://bc.tech.coop/blog/060224.html "Most people who graduate with CS degrees don't understand the significance of Lisp. Lisp is the most important idea in computer science."

blasdel 17y ago
I can not think of a more clearly terrible example than Geology! The Grand Canyon is in no way exempt from time -- millions of years ago it was just another unremarkable course of the Colorado River, and millions of years from now it will have eroded to nothingness. The Himalayas used to be an unremarkable coastline, and the Appalachians hills were once taller than Everest is now.
- lispm 17y ago
  Awesome is an impression by a person that makes an observation. Millions ago the earth had no Grand Canyon (and thus could not be observed) and millions years ago there were no observers that could be impressed by something. As long as there is a GRAND CANYON (a label for an observable geological feature given by man) the GRAND CANYON will be awesome. Your father found the Grand Canyon awesome and and your children will find it awesome, too. For us humans the Grand Canyon, as long it is there and as long we are there, is 'awesome'. 'Awesome' is an impression that humans have of something. It has nothing to do with geological timescales.
  - jodrellblank 17y ago
    Unless there is an atomic spaceship war in a hundred years which scars the earth with canyons that size every few hundred miles. Then our grand children will not find "the Grand Canyon" awesome, they will find it "just another of those huge canyons that are everywhere and really boring". Redwoods are awesome trees because of their size. If all other trees died out and Redwoods were the only tree, they wouldn't be awesome, they would be "normal tree size". Unless you are high you don't go around being awe inspired by everyday things. Awesome is implicitly comparing with "everything else". Different things aren't awesome, but awesome things are different - but only while they are different. > a Porsche from 1970 is still awesome Not to me. A Veyron, now that's awesome. Spitfires are awesome, but only anachronistically - for their time and their reputation at the time - they don't hold a candle to a modern fighter.
    - lispm 17y ago
      I find a lot of cars awesome. Because they ALL have the SAME qualities that I like: excellent design, fantastic engineering, etc. Sure, there might be cars with less fantastic engineering, those I might not find awesome. But it says nothing about that there is only a single thing of a certain type that I can find awesome or that other things are less or more awesome. 'Just awesome' stands for it alone. No, I don't find the Veyron awesome. That's just butt ugly. These are awesome cars: http://www.ausmotive.com/images/Porsche-917-01.jpg http://www.ausmotive.com/images/Porsche-917-01.jpg Especially the one in the front.

lispm 17y ago

http://www.porsche.com/germany/sportandevents/motorsport/history/racingcars/70ies/1970-gulf917-4-9kurzheckcoupe/ http://www.porsche.com/germany/sportandevents/motorsport/his... http://www.ausmotive.com/2009/03/20/porsche-917-celebrates-40th-birthday.html http://www.ausmotive.com/2009/03/20/porsche-917-celebrates-4... You would not find that Porsche 917 from 1970 awesome? http://www.ausmotive.com/images/Porsche-917-01.jpg http://www.ausmotive.com/images/Porsche-917-01.jpg